Sta. Lucia’s MJ Phillips to return to action next month

Much to the delight of the fans, opposite spiker MJ Phillips will soon be making her much-anticipated return to the taraflex court—although later than first expected.

In a Twitter post yesterday, the Lady Realtors revealed that Phillips will definitely see action in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix 2019 despite her noticeable absence from the 14-woman lineup announced last Saturday.

Per reports, Sta. Lucia’s newly-minted head coach Babes Castillo confirmed that the 23-year old opposite spiker is suiting up for the import-laden conference but it won’t be happening until next month.

The 5-foot-11 gem of a hitter is listed as a reserved player and will return in the lineup next month as she is still five weeks away from 100 percent recovery from injuries.

The Fil-Am talent will most likely make her grand comeback on March 12, per Castillo.

GOOD NEWS: MJ Phillips is five weeks away from full recovery. And according to Sta. Lucia head coach Babes Castillo, by around March 12, the opposite spiker will be back in the line-up and that she will definitely see action in the 2019 PSL Grand Prix. #rebuildtheLANDpic.twitter.com/QWBiPhqbYB

Phillips’ inclusion in the lineup could mean good things for Sta. Lucia.

Raring to redeem themselves, the Lady Realtors are coming off a rather dismal 2018 campaign.

With its players suffering from injuries, Sta. Lucia’s supposedly breakthrough year turned out to be a mess as the squad finished 6-out-of-10 in the PSL Invitationals and capped their PSL All Filipino Conference run sans a win.

Phillips, who played scarcely in the Invitationals and didn’t see action at all in the All Filipino, has already started training again with the Castillo-backed team.

Once fully recovered, she will be joining the local cast of Pam Lastimosa, Jho Maraguinot, Becca Rivera, Micmic Laborte, Rubie de Leon, and Souzan Raslan with the new hires Ria Lo, Juliet Catindig, Rachel Austero, Jan Andrea Morano, and Amanda Villanueva.

Her firepower will be a welcome addition as Sta. Lucia tapped American opposite spiker Casey Schoenlein and middle blocker Molly Lohman.

Sta. Lucia’s first game is against Generika Ayala on February 16, 6 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig.